CSIS Pekingology
Podcast

Pekingology

China has emerged as one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, making it more important than ever to understand how the country is governed. True to the name Pekingology, or the study of the political behavior of the People’s Republic of China, this podcast aims to unpack the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party and implications these actions have within China and for U.S.-China relations. Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, is joined by various experts to analyze the activities of the Chinese governing system and how these impact the complex relationships relating to China.

Pekingology is produced by Gina Kim.

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All Pekingology Podcast Episodes

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Pekingology

China Across CSIS: PRC Leadership Decisionmaking with Mr. Jon Czin

In this special episode from the ChinaPower podcast, Mr. Jon Czin joins host Bonny Lin to discuss domestic dynamics and leadership decisionmaking within the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC).

Original interview published on October 31, 2024.

Podcast Episode by Bonny Lin — May 15, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China Across CSIS: Communication Amid Competition with Chen Dongxiao

In this episode from China Field Notes, Chen Dongxiao, President of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), discusses his career and offers a frank assessment of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship during the late-Biden and early Trump administrations.

Podcast Episode by Scott Kennedy and Michael Knaak — May 1, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

China Across CSIS: China Weathers the Storm of U.S. Tariffs

In this special episode from The Truth of the Matter from CSIS, host Andrew Schwartz speaks with Scott Kennedy, CSIS senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, to discuss the latest in the U.S.-China trade war.

Podcast Episode by Scott Kennedy and H. Andrew Schwartz — April 17, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Dictatorship and Information

In this episode from January 2023, Jude Blanchette is joined by Martin K. Dimitrov, a professor of political science at Tulane University, to discuss his recent book, ‘Dictatorship and Information’: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China.

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — April 3, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Why Does the CCP Need a Core?

Jude Blanchette is joined by Xuezhi Guo, the Lincoln Financial Professor of Political Science at Gilford College, to discuss his book, The Politics of the Core Leader in China: Culture, Institution, Legitimacy, and Power.

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — March 13, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Coalitions of the Weak

In this episode of Pekingology from June 2022, Jude Blanchette is joined by Victor Shih, associate professor and Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego. They discuss his book, Coalitions of the Weak: Elite Politics in China from Mao’s Stratagem to the Rise of Xi.

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette and Victor Shih — February 27, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

How the CCP Finances its Global Ambitions

In this episode of Pekingology which aired on July 6, 2023, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a fellow for international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the book Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances Its Global Ambitions. 

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — February 13, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Outsourcing Repression

In this episode of Pekingology from March 2023, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Dr. Lynette H. Ong, Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, jointly appointed to the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s Asian Institute and also a Faculty Fellow at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. They discuss her recent book Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China.  

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — January 30, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

What Happens if Xi Jinping Dies in Office?

With the removal of the only term limit on office in March 2018, Xi Jinping stands to rule indefinitely. But what happens if he suddenly dies in office? How will China's political and economic system respond? In this episode from September 2020, Jude Blanchette is joined by Michigan State University's Erica Frantz to discuss her co-authored paper, "When Dictators Die." 

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — January 17, 2025

CSIS Pekingology
Pekingology

Overcoming the Emperor's Dilemma

In this episode from June 2021, Jude Blanchette is joined by Wang Yuhua to discuss how rulers in Imperial China maintained -- and lost -- political power. 

Podcast Episode by Jude Blanchette — January 3, 2025

CSIS Pekingology